


Baby you're worth it

by hwangsungfairy



Category: NU'EST, Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Friendship, Jisung & Woojin are siblings, Light Angst, M/M, Romance, re-uploaded fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 04:04:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14633706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hwangsungfairy/pseuds/hwangsungfairy
Summary: In which Minhyun acts like a crazy wanna-be kdrama boyfriend when all Jisung was looking for was a math tutor for his little brother Woojin.





	Baby you're worth it

When their mother announced while they were having dinner that Woojin should get tutored in maths, he immediately protested. Jisung swallowed his mouthful of rice before telling him to calm down, but the younger glared at him. 

“Your grades in maths have been less than okay lately, Woojinnie,” their mom reasoned him, “and it doesn’t mean you’ll get tutored the entire year, it’d be just now so you can raise your grades.”

“I don’t want to”, Woojin answered in a typical eighteen year old fashion who feels like the entire world is going against him. “I’m gonna have less time for the dance club!” 

Jisung frowned. Of all the days he had to come and visit his mom and brother, it had the day drama happened. He suspected his mother had wanted him to back her up on Woojin needing math tutoring, but she hadn’t said anything to him, so he guessed he should side with her regardless of that.

“The dance club can go on without you,” their mom resumed, “Now, where should I find a tutor for you…?”

“Mom, do you want me to ask my friends?” Jisung intervened, wincing when Woojin kicked him in the shin under the table. So much for trying to appease conflicts.

“Thank you honey, that’d be great.”

Woojin kicked him again and finished licking his plate clean with a frown while Jisung sighed.

* * *

The next day, Jisung went to university wondering who he could go to regarding that tutoring issue. He hadn’t volunteered, because what could be worse to have your own brother tutor you? He wasn’t bad at maths, though, but he knew how stubborn Woojin could be. Right now, he was probably sulking in class and complaining loudly to his friends. Jisung let out a sigh, but greeted Jonghyun with a tight hug when he came in the lecture hall and sat next to him. Jisung smiled at him as they started discussing a history essay that they had had to write for the last class and whether they’d get it back today. In the midst of their conversation, Jisung suddenly remembered his brother’s issue. He figured it was worth a shot to ask Jonghyun whether or not he knew someone who could fit for the job. 

“By the way, would you know of anyone who could tutor Woojin in maths?”

“Is he having trouble keeping up with the math program?” 

“Yeah, kinda is. I would’ve helped myself but you know how he is, he would leave the room before I could even say anything.”

“That is true,” Jonghyun nodded, chuckling. “Let me see… I think Minhyun would do a pretty good job at tutoring him?”

“Minhyun?” Jisung repeated.

“Yup! Do you know him?” Jonghyun smiled. 

“I don’t think so.”

“Oh, he’s in our year though, he’s a Japanese and literature major and he’s taking an Education minor as well. We’ve been friends since the beginning of high school, and I believe he’s already done some tutoring in maths,” Jonghyun replied, taking his phone out of his pocket, “Maybe you’ve seen him with me before!”

“Oh, okay… sure then, could you introduce us?” 

“Alright, I’ll text him right now and see if we can have lunch together today!”

As it turned out, Minhyun was kind of hard to miss, Jisung realized when Jonghyun introduced them. He was tall and handsome, as cliché as that might sound, and he also had the voice of an angel (that was a bit too much but he really did have a great voice). He smiled a lot while they were having lunch, and immediately agreed to be Woojin’s tutor. Jisung warned him that Woojin could be difficult sometimes, but Minhyun laughed it off, mentioning he had dealt with awful kids before - not that he was calling Woojin awful, he added with a sheepish smile. Jisung took no offence, he was the first one to call his little brother names after all. They exchanged numbers, and Jisung went back to class with Jonghyun, feeling relieved he had found a tutor for Woojin.

* * *

 Jisung and Minhyun texted for a few days before arranging a first tutoring session that would take place at Minhyun’s house, on a Wednesday afternoon. Jisung would drive Woojin here and either come back later to pick him up or also stay over, he hadn’t decided yet. However, when the day came, Jisung couldn’t find Woojin anywhere in their house. He checked his room, the bathroom, the kitchen and the garden twice, only to ask his mom, defeated, if she knew where his brother was. 

“He said he was meeting Jihoon at the soccer field this afternoon, remember?”

“He said what?!”

And that is how Jisung found himself driving all the way opposite to Minhyun’s house, all of that because his brother was running away from maths. Indeed, he found Woojin chatting with Jihoon near the soccer field, Jihoon still stretching as practice hadn’t started yet. Jisung took huge steps and speed walked to them, furious. Woojin wasn’t one to back away easily, but this time, he knew he was the one at fault and so he hid behind Jihoon. Jisung stopped right before almost colliding with the younger, and frowned.

“We’re late, and I didn’t spend time arranging this session for you to make Minhyun waste his time!”

Woojin didn’t answer, looking down. Jisung was about to scold him more when Jihoon talked before he could.

“Woojinnie, I know you can do it if you put your mind into it. Do it for me?” he said in a sweet voice, and Jisung was taken aback when Woojin actually stepped forward, still looking at the ground. Jihoon intertwined their fingers, and gave them a light squeeze.

“Cheer up!” 

That said, he leant forward and kissed Woojin’s lips. Jisung went “thank you Jihoon” before heading back to his car, letting his little brother with his boyfriend. Jihoon circled Woojin’s shoulders, falling a bit more against his chest as he hugged him closer while never breaking their kiss. He never stopped moving his lips and tongue against Woojin’s until they had to break away for air, and even then, he looked flushed but cute.

“I love you,” Jihoon smiled, whispering it in that soft tone he only used for Woojin. “If you do your best, I’ll give you a reward, how does that sound?”

Woojin nodded before burying his nose into Jihoon’s neck and whispering I love you back to him. Jihoon pecked his lips at least five other times before letting him go for real, and Woojin walked to Jisung’s car. His older brother didn’t nag at him, and the drive to Minhyun’s house was silent.

When they finally arrived, Minhyun welcomed them with warm smile, brighter than the sun and both siblings were temporarily blinded. He didn’t comment on the made up reason Jisung gave for their delay, and invited them in. He asked Jisung if he’d like to stay over as well, and Jisung didn’t notice the way he was looking at him expectantly, as if he really wanted him to say yes. Jisung agreed with a shrug, and he didn’t think it was possible yet Minhyun’s smile became brighter. They went to his room, and there, Minhyun told Jisung to sit comfortably on his bed while he and Woojin would share his desk, sitting on chairs. Jisung and Woojin both thanked him, and they got to studying right away. 

Jisung was also doing math homework, funnily enough, and because it wasn’t too hard for him, he couldn’t help but eavesdrop on Minhyun’s tutoring session. Minhyun had first asked Woojin about what they were currently studying in class, as well as for his math textbook so that they could go over the lessons together. He asked several questions regarding what Woojin had understood so far or not, and Jisung was amazed at how well he handled dealing with his brother. He had a very gentle voice, and Woojin was being very calm, actually trying to piece together all the elements he was given to come up with something logical. 

 

An hour in, Minhyun called for a break, congratulating Woojin on working hard. Woojin excused himself to the bathroom, and Minhyun went to sit next to Jisung. Jisung raised a curious brow at Minhyun’s star-filled eyes on him, not quite sure how someone could look this bright after teaching math for an hour. Maybe he was an angel or a robot, that would explain many things. 

“How are you doing?” Minhyun asked, his tone light. 

“I’m good, doing math as well,” Jisung answered, pushing his textbook away from him. “How about you?”

“I’m fine,” Minhyun chuckled, running a hand through his hair, “your brother is doing good, I’ve definitely had worse students before.”

“Maybe he’s behaving because I’m here?” Jisung offered with a teasing smile, “he hasn’t revealed his true self yet.”

“If that’s the case, maybe you need to come to the other sessions as well,” Minhyun said, and Jisung swallowed with difficulty at the look the other sent him. Oh. He hadn’t planned for Minhyun to flirt with him right away – not that he minded, but his heart was a bit weak with beautiful boys. Two could play at this game, he figured.

“I don’t know, what’s in for me? I’m not the one who needs tutoring in maths,” he said, his eyes never leaving Minhyun’s.

“So you don’t want to spend time with me?” Minhyun shot back, shifting so he was sitting a bit closer to him. 

“Those tutoring sessions aren’t made to spend time together,” Jisung stuttered. He had barely the time to register the hand that had suddenly crept on his thigh when the door opened again. They jumped away from each other, and Woojin raised a curious brow. Nevertheless, he didn’t ask any questions and Minhyun sat with him again.

Another hour of studying went by before they called it a day. Minhyun complimented Woojin, and thanked Jisung, adding that he hoped the afternoon hadn’t been too boring for him. Minhyun walked them back to their car, and went “I look forward to seeing you again”. While that might have been meant for Woojin, Jisung felt like he was the one being addressed and he drove them back home, feeling a little flustered.

* * *

On Saturday, Jisung drove Woojin to Minhyun’s house once again. This time, Woojin had not run away to Jihoon, so they actually arrived on time. Minhyun welcomed them with his eternal smile, which faltered when he noticed Jisung not following Woojin inside the house.

“Good luck with him,” Jisung wished him, and Minhyun frowned slightly. Jisung turned on his heels and barely made a first step towards his car that Minhyun caught his hand in his.

“Wait!!”

Jisung jumped in surprise at the sudden loud tone, and turned to face Minhyun, eyebrows raised. Minhyun looked like a kicked puppy having been denied his favorite toy, and Jisung almost cooed. 

“You’re not… staying?” Minhyun asked, biting his lower lip. 

“Not this time, I planned on meeting with someone this afternoon.”

Jisung inwardly smiled when he felt Minhyun’s fingers tighten around his wrist, and it was hard not to laugh at his obvious jealous expression. He had been vague on purpose, and it was obviously working.

“Is it a date?” Minhyun asked, trying his best to sound as nonchalant as possible. 

“Maybe, he didn’t specify,” Jisung answered innocently.

It wasn’t, actually, or rather, it was a friendly date – he and Daniel had no plans to ever date each other, but it was fun to rile the other up. Minhyun let go of his hand and Jisung wondered if he had gone too far in his teasing, except that Minhyun’s hand actually went to his waist, resting on his sides, barely there. 

“We never discussed the payment for those tutoring sessions,” Minhyun declared, his hand on Jisung’s waist actually bringing him closer to him. “But I think I know how you should pay me.”

Jisung inwardly swore at how hot and sexy Minhyun looked right now, darkened eyes locked with his and biting his lower lip exaggeratedly. But he couldn’t let him know he was too affected – yet he had to let him know he was interested. It was all about balance.

“Yes?” he said, trying to sound as unaffected as possible.

“Go on a date with me.”

Jisung shot him a teasing smile. 

“Sure, Minhyunnie.”

Minhyun looked a bit taken aback, as though he hadn’t expected Jisung to agree so easily. And this time, his smile looked a lot more soft and his eyes seemed to sparkle a bit. He leant down and kissed Jisung’s cheek, letting his lips stay there for a good three seconds. He was about to add something else when Jisung tip-toed and kissed him on the cheek as well. Minhyun opened his mouth, his cheeks coloring themselves with a bright red, but Jisung was already back into his car. He winked at him, and drove away, leaving a very embarrassed Minhyun on the threshold of his home. 

(Needless to say, Jisung was still beet red when he met with Daniel and that led his best friend to tease him relentlessly the entire time they were together.) 

* * *

“You never told me you were friends with a psycho,” Jisung moaned before starting to stuff his face with more food. Jonghyun raised a brow at that, before turning to Minki, who was just as lost. 

“What do you mean?”

“Your friend Minhyun, Woojin’s tutor,” Jisung elaborated.

“He’s the softest person I know,” Jonghyun said, eyebrows still raised in surprise. 

“Are we really talking about the same person? Because he started flirting with me right from the first lesson and last time he even kissed me!” Seeing as Minki’s eyes were growing bigger, Jisung immediately added “He kissed me on the cheek!!”

Minki started smiling like he knew something Jonghyun and Jisung didn’t, and Jisung didn’t really like this expression. 

“Oh, that’s what you meant,” Minki smirked, “that’s actually how Minhyun acts when he has a crush.”

“He does that?” Jonghyun asked, still lost. 

“You only see the good in him so obviously you wouldn’t have noticed, but he tends to act a bit… extreme whenever he likes someone.”

Minki laughed at Jonghyun’s confused expression before cuddling his side. “It’s okay babe, sometimes you’re a bit dense.”

“Wait,” Jisung intervened, “he likes me? but we’ve barely talked, we met two weeks ago?”

“Love at first sight,” Minki sing-songed, “also have you done anything to reject him yet? ‘Cause, if you actually encouraged him to flirt with you then he’s gonna get much worse.”

“Oh…”

“Spill already!” 

Jisung should have been concerned with how invested Minki sounded, but he didn’t pay attention to that before admitting that he had not rejected Minhyun and had most definitely done stuff that fell under the “flirt back” category. 

“So,” Minki said once he was done, counting on his fingers as he enumerated each fact, “you flirted back with him, agreed on going on a date with him, kissed him back on the cheek when he did and now you’re even texting him regularly. He’s gonna ask for your hand in a matter of days if you keep up that pace.”

“Do you want to date him?” Jonghyun asked curiously as he lets himself get hugged again by Minki. 

“I don’t know… I mean, sure, he’s attractive, but I don’t know him enough.”

“I think you’d make a great couple,” Minki commented as he was combing Jonghyun’s hair with his fingers. “I could see you getting along.”

“Really? And you guys wouldn’t mind us dating?”

“There’s always a factor of unknown when you start dating someone, but it might be worth trying?” Jonghyun offered. Minki nodded, beaming, and kissed him on the mouth. Jisung rolled his eyes, muttering something along the lines of “Minki we just had lunch.”

* * *

So the following weekend, Jisung found himself waiting for Minhyun in front of the aquarium, where they had agreed on meeting. It wasn’t Jisung’s first time there, but it was most definitely his first time here on a date. He checked the time on his phone, noticing that he was still a bit early. He hadn’t bothered to take off his earbuds yet, and he was mouthing the lyrics to the song he was listening to when someone poked his arm. He jumped in surprised, and was met with a giggling Minhyun. 

“You almost gave me a heart attack,” Jisung complained, taking off his earbuds. 

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist since you didn’t see me coming!” 

Jisung rolled his eyes, but opened his arms for a hug nonetheless. He and Minhyun had started doing that as a way of greeting each other, and it was nice being a little bit smaller than Minhyun because he fitted in his embrace a lot more like this. Jisung pinched Minhyun when the latter went for a kiss on the cheek, however he accepted the arm he was offered before they made they way towards the entrance of the aquarium. Minhyun insisted to pay for the tickets, and told Jisung to stop pouting otherwise he’d get kissed. That made Jisung blush and Minhyun swoop his arm around his waist once again as they entered. 

Jisung found himself appreciating Minhyun’s physical contacts a lot more than he would’ve thought. Whether it’d be their fingers brushing before they held hands for real, Minhyun circling his waist or his shoulders, he was constantly reminded of his date’s warm presence. Minhyun kept asking which fishes he liked better, which corals were prettier and whether or not he thought of octopuses were cute. They didn’t stay near the shark tanks for too long, but they spent time admiring the dolphins. There was even a dolphin show, and they attended it with sparkly eyes, huddled against each other.

Their last stop was a dark room with seats facing a large bay window, behind which colorful jellyfish were swimming slowly. There was something fascinating about their moves which were slow, elegant even. There were only the two of them, other people having exited the aquarium already, but they stayed there side by side. Jisung went as far as resting his head on Minhyun’s shoulder, while the latter was hugging his waist. Their free hands intertwined tightly, and they remained silent while the jellyfish kept swimming. 

“Minhyunnie?”

“Hm?” 

“Thank you for today, I loved it.”

“Me too.”

Jisung could hear Minhyun’s smile in his words. He closed his eyes, but opened them again when he felt Minhyun shift against him. Curious, he let the other move around, however his eyes widened when Minhyun cupped his cheek and leant in for a kiss. Their lips brushed, and Jisung pushed him away, hands on his shoulders. Minhyun looked at him with surprise, having clearly not expected the rejection.

“Too… too soon,” Jisung said, breaking their staring contest. “I-I… you’re very nice but that’s, err, too soon.”

“Sorry, I thought-” Minhyun stuttered, moving away, “I read the situation wrongly.”

A heavy silence fell, and Jisung bit his lower lip, feeling a very unpleasant feeling of guilt settling in his stomach. Everything had been so perfect today, and now he had ruined it. He wasn’t even sure why he had been so nervous at the thought of Minhyun finally kissing him for real as they had already shared kisses on the cheek. Maybe he felt like their relationship was moving too quickly - he didn’t want to reject Minhyun completely though, because he knew he was attracted to him.

He glanced at Minhyun, who seemed dejected, shoulders slumping. He was running a hand through his hair as an obvious way to keep his focus on something else than Jisung, and avoiding eye contact. Jisung felt hurt at the sight he had caused, and he spoke up softly.

“Minhyun?”

“Hm- we don’t have to stay here, we can leave,” Minhyun cut him off, still avoiding his eyes and standing up.

“I don’t mind hand holding and hugs,” Jisung said, eyes on his lap, “it’s just that... maybe we should get closer before kissing?”

He was still sitting, and Minhyun had gone down the stairs, and when he looked up Minhyun was standing in front of him, a bit smaller than him since had walked down a level. 

“So no kissing on the mouth until we’re boyfriends, got it. Anything else?”

Jisung’s eyes widened comically, and pink colored his cheeks. Minhyun seemed a lot happier understanding this hadn’t been a complete rejection, and Jisung flicked his forehead.

“What makes you think I’ll ever be your boyfriend?” he pouted, although the thought made his chest warm. 

“Because I’m going to take you on more dates to show you how good of a boyfriend I can be,” Minhyun answered immediately, not bothered by the forehead flicking. “So in the meantime,” he resumed, eyes suddenly a lot darker, “don’t go see anyone else than me.”

They got out of the aquarium around dinner time, and Minhyun was visibly dying to ask Jisung whether they could have dinner together. Jisung smiled at seeing how excited Minhyun was, and decided to make things easier by asking rhetorically “Ah, what should we do now? I’m a bit hungry.”

“I know a restaurant nearby, wanna go there? My treat,” Minhyun blurted out at once, and Jisung chuckled before agreeing, clinging on Minhyun’s arm once again. When leaving the restaurant, Minhyun offered to drive Jisung back to his apartment, and Jisung, having come with the subway earlier, agreed. The drive was nice, with some relaxing music in the background and them making small talk – and Minhyun’s hand sometimes travelling on Jisung’s thighs. They reached Jisung’s apartment quickly, and still in the car, Jisung turned to Minhyun to thank him. Minhyun beamed at him, and suddenly asked, shyly, if he could at least get a kiss on the cheek. Jisung agreed, muttering about how insufferable Minhyun was (jokingly), and right when his lips were about to come in contact with the his cheek, Minhyun turned his head, resulting in them sharing a short peck on the lips. 

“You planned this,” Jisung said accusingly, but there was no bite to his words. Minhyun laughed innocently, and because their faces were still close, took advantage of it to land another peck on Jisung’s lips. 

“Hwang Minhyun!!”

“Sorry!!”

* * *

They didn’t have much time for other dates besides this one, so when they met, it was for lunch alongside Jonghyun and Minki – as well as Aron and Dongho when their schedules allowed them to join – or when Jisung drove Woojin to Minhyun’s home for his tutoring sessions. A month and a half had passed since their first meeting, yet they were already getting closer; Jisung’s heart felt more at ease, as time went on, at the thought of eventually dating Minhyun. Minhyun was seemingly more than ready, with the way he would always make time in his schedule to drop by his lecture halls with coffee and snacks. 

* * *

Soon it was March, and Jisung’s friends and himself found themselves in his house, which his mother had so nicely lent him for the night, claiming that his apartment would be too small and that he might as well celebrate his birthday in a more fitting place. While he hadn’t necessarily asked for many presents, he received way more than he had even asked for, his friends not wasting a single opportunity to hug and kiss him too. He was chatting with Jonghyun and Minki when he was suddenly engulfed into a backhug and a chin rested on his shoulder.

“Hi Minhyun!” Jonghyun exclaimed happily.

“Hi,” Minhyun smiled brightly, still not getting off Jisung. “Happy birthday, sorry for showing up late.” 

“You’re good, and thank you,” Jisung smiled back, too happy with the way the evening was going well to truly mind Minhyun’s touchy behavior.

“You look extra cute today,” Minhyun commented before pecking Jisung’s cheek and getting off him. 

Jisung rolled his eyes at the kiss, but didn’t scold him, so Minhyun beamed at him. In front of them, Minki had gone “awww” while hugging Jonghyun’s arm, and dropped a “we’ll let you guys have fun for now, see you later!” before he and Jonghyun left, sighting Aron who had just arrived. Jisung waved to Aron who waved back with a grin, but Minhyun soon demanded his attention again.

“Can we go to your room? I wanna give you my present,” he said, pouting a bit. 

“And why is it that you insist on giving me my present in my room, where no one can see us?” Jisung asked, half-serious, half-joking. 

“It feels more personal,” Minhyun replied, a not so innocent smile tugging at his lips. Jisung chuckled, but agreed, and once Minhyun had picked up the bag in which his gift was, they went in his room. He had left it untouched ever since he had moved out, but he came back often, so it still felt like his personal space. 

Minhyun closed the door behind them, and handed the package to Jisung. Jisung took it, and from the size and from how squishy it felt under his fingers, he was almost sure it was a stuffed toy. 

“Open it!” Minhyun said, more excited than Jisung himself.

Jisung shot him a fake annoyed look, before unwrapping his gift: a huge, anime-like raccoon stuffed toy, with a letter in his arms. Jisung took the letter and opened it, only to see a few words scribbled there in what he guessed was Minhyun’s writing; it read “My dear Jisung, I wish you the happiest birthday. I feel blessed knowing I have you in my life, I wish for our relationship to grow closer this year. Love, Minhyun.” Jisung smiled while reading the letter, and took another look at his raccoon, which looked absolutely adorable. He looked up at Minhyun with a soft smile, and his cheeks heated up when he noticed Minhyun was looking at him tenderly. 

“Thank you, for your gift and for the letter,” Jisung said, grinning.

“You’re very welcome, I’m glad you like them- oh and by the way, it’s fine to name him Minhyun,” Minhyun said, eyes shining with excitement.

Jisung looked at the stuffed toy in his arms. “So it’s a him, hm? How about Jihyun, then?”

“Jihyun?”

“Jisung,” he said, pointing to himself, “Minhyun,” he added, pointing to Minhyun, “and put together you have Jihyun. Doesn’t it sound cute?”

Minhyun was clearly taken aback, and Jisung started giggling at how red he got before he hid his face in his hands. Jisung put Jihyun on his bed, and hugged Minhyun briefly. “Let’s go back?” the birthday boy offered. Minhyun nodded, and Jisung had almost reached the door when he went “Wait!!”. That cause Jisung to retrieve his hand from the doorknob, eyebrows raised. 

“I think you should look up,” Minhyun said with a mysterious smile, one finger pointing to the ceiling of Jisung’s room. Jisung, intrigued, did, and opened his mouth in surprise when his eyes landed on mistletoe, hung on the ceiling.

“How… wait, who put this here? It’s March,” he said, frowning.

“I didn’t!” Minhyun defended himself. 

Jisung squinted at him, but nodded. Minhyun beamed at him.

“It’s not the right period of time, but you know what this being here means, right?” Minhyun said as casually as possible. 

“Can’t believe you’re using that mistletoe as an excuse to kiss me- are you sure you weren’t the one who put it up?”

“You have so little trust in me, that’s really upsetting.”

“That’s only because I know how devious you are!” 

“So can I kiss you?”

Jisung stopped himself from replying something sassy, and whispered a small “yes”. Minhyun beamed once again, and got closer to him, cupping his cheek with one hand while the other went to rest on his sides. Jisung closed his eyes and tilted his head, and Minhyun’s half-opened, inviting lips met his, tenderly. Their mouths stayed in contact for a few seconds, unmoving, until Minhyun took it upon himself to deepen the kiss, making it last as his lips worked on Jisung’s. Jisung was actually the first one whose tongue darted out of his mouth, meeting Minhyun’s halfway between their exchange. As Minhyun started exploring his mouth, one of Jisung’s hands went into the taller’s hair, running through the soft locks and pressing their faces together without even noticing. Minhyun, encouraged, let out a soft “hm” in the kiss. 

Their kisses remained wet, open-mouthed and intimate as the party noises served as a blurry background. Minhyun finally broke away, pecking Jisung’s lips a few more times before pulling away for good. Jisung’s grip in his hair grew less tight, and they took a step backwards to breathe and give each other some space. They wiped their mouths, and Jisung coughed, embarrassed. 

“Happy birthday,” Minhyun said, and Jisung felt taken aback by the love he could see reflected in his eyes. “You’re wonderful.” I love you remained unsaid, but they both heard it. 

“Thank you.”

* * *

A week after, they finally planned another date, just something casual where they’d meet at a coffee shop and then maybe go shopping. Minhyun showed up right on time, feeling giddy. Today sounded like the perfect day to finally ask Jisung out, this time for real. He entered the coffee shop and his eyes immediately landed on his ~~boyfriend~~ (not so fast) Jisung. The sight of his date made him smile, yet the smile didn’t reach his eyes when he also took notice of another male next to Jisung. A very, very attractive one, on top of that, who was laughing at something he had just said while Jisung smiled at him affectionately, a kind of smile which Minhyun was sure he hadn’t seen before. 

He felt sick to his stomach, but forced himself to order some coffee at the counter, precising which table he’d be seating to. He paid for his order and joined the duo, lips tightly pressed in a line. Jisung smiled when he sat next to him, going for a quick hug as a greeting. That made him feel a little less sick, but he was still scowling at the sight of the other male, who seemed very aware of Minhyun’s apparent jealousy. 

“Minhyun, this is Daniel,” Jisung started before getting cut off by Daniel.

“I’m his best friend, soulmate, something in between – and we promised to get married when we were kids,” Daniel delivered in a breath, looking too smug for Minhyun’s liking. 

“My best friend,” Jisung repeated, smiling nicely. 

“Nice to meet you,” Minhyun said in a tone that was anything but nice, “I’m one of Jisung’s friends.”

“I was waiting for you and Daniel happened to pass by, so I told him it was okay to join us – I hope you don’t mind?” Jisung said, biting his lower lip in worry. Minhyun hesitated, because Daniel looked too smug to be truly innocent, but at the same time, he was Jisung’s best friend and he doubted starting a fight with him while they weren’t even dating was a smart move. He figured he could deal with Daniel for now, and that he’d set up limits once he and Jisung were finally together – because he really didn’t like the way Daniel kept leaning into Jisung to laugh and play with his hands.

They made small talk while sipping on their coffee, during which Minhyun got to learn more about Daniel and Jisung’s relationship, and he felt uneasy as the conversation went on because of how close they seemed to be, and not only physically. They were obviously very at ease with each other and were a good match, and he felt left out when he saw how easily Daniel complimented Jisung’s looks and mind. Now that Daniel was here, Minhyun could no longer attempt at any kind of skinship with Jisung seeing as he was busy with Daniel. It wasn’t just that, even talking with Jisung was hard because Daniel also required his attention. 

Worst was, Jisung seemed to be so in synch with Daniel he didn’t seem to mind at all, and for a moment, Minhyun tried to picture how their table looked from the outside: Daniel and Jisung as a couple, and him the friend who was the third wheel. He wasn’t needed here, he realized, and probably wasn’t needed at all in Jisung’s life when mister Perfection over there was here. 

Their coffees finished, they got out of the coffee shop and walked to the subway, planning on heading to the mall. Minhyun walked behind Jisung and Daniel, and those two were still as close, hands sometimes brushing in a way that made Minhyun crazy jealous. He forced himself to calm down, but all of his efforts went to total waste as soon as they stepped in a wagon. It wasn’t crowded, yet Daniel immediately drew Jisung to him, far away from Minhyun. Minhyun felt a ball of anxiety and disappointment form itself in his stomach, and a lump appeared in his throat.

Knowing it would only serve to hurt him more, he studied the duo that was busy giggling in front of him.

 

Daniel was indeed very good-looking, and as Minhyun was busy glaring to him because he still had Jisung drawn against his chest, he suddenly noticed how their color patterns actually matched. They were wearing the same jacket, similar jeans with holes around the knee area, and on top of that they also had baby blue striped shirts – in short, they looked like boyfriends. Daniel’s hands going lower on Jisung’s back to the point they rested right over his ass had Minhyun bite his lower lip in anger. 

Their subway car wasn’t even shaking that badly, so Daniel should’ve let go of Jisung long ago. Minhyun also blamed Jisung for looking so good, like he was made to fit into Daniel’s arms. Minhyun knew Daniel was very much aware of that fact, and his broader stature made him look like a strong boyfriend taking care of his partner. Minhyun sighed annoyingly for the nth time at the thought about Daniel being here and crashing his date with Jisung. He was all the more angry at the way Jisung did not attempt to leave Daniel’s embrace, seemingly content to be there. 

Minhyun knew he always had this aura of the man who knew what (or who) he wanted, the man who had confidence and wasn’t easily destabilized. Yet behind this attitude, right now his heart was in pain. Maybe this was Jisung’s way to reject him, not to pay any attention to him despite agreeing to today’s rendez-vous. Maybe Jisung and Daniel had a more-than-friends-but-not-quite-lovers relationship, and Jisung was content with that. Minhyun was all the more pained that despite recognizing that sometimes, he had been a little too forceful in his flirting, he was genuinely in love with Jisung, and he had thought for a while that Jisung was interested too. Jisung had assured him he hadn’t read the situation wrongly a few weeks ago, but the scene in front of him told him everything: he wasn’t needed in Jisung’s life, neither before, now or in the future – or at least, as a lover, but Minhyun didn’t want to be stuck in that awkward situation of him and Jisung remaining friends when he had burning feelings of love for the other.

“I give up,” Minhyun whispered to himself. 

 

His heart felt too heavy in his chest, and everyone around him knew he was no man to give up easily, but this time, it seemed his quest had been in vain. He gave a last look at Jisung and Daniel, still tangled, and gulped down with difficulty. 

“I’m getting off at the next station, something came up and I need to go,” he said to the duo as the robotic voice was announcing the name of the station they were approaching. He left the car as many other people, not looking behind him as he did. He wiped his eyes as he made his way towards an exit, heart beating too loud to his liking. Once he was finally out of the station, he found a bench and sat there, breathing heavily. And a first tear rolled on his right cheek, then a second followed by a third one and soon he was crying his heart out. He had been such a fool.

In the subway car, Daniel and Jisung had broken their embrace, and Jisung’s eyes were still widened because of Minhyun’s unexpected action. Daniel looked just as shocked, a hand covering his mouth.

“Oh no-Jisung he was crying.”

“He was crying?!” Jisung repeated, heart suddenly hurting. 

“I didn’t think we were taking it too far, fuck, that’s not what I wanted to do…” Daniel said, eyebrows dropping. “Fuck,” he said again, “he probably thought that we were together or something because I kept holding you and we didn’t talk with him at all-” He interrupted himself before pulling at his hair in frustration.

Jisung hid his face in his hands, and shame crept up all over his body and mind. He had meant to tease Minhyun a bit, but he should’ve known better; Minhyun wasn’t close to him to the point he knew what kind of relationship he had with Daniel, and that Daniel was in no way one of his suitors. They stayed silent for the rest of the ride, heads dropped low in shame. They had fucked up big time.

* * *

Jisung’s texts and calls went unanswered as expected, and finding Minhyun on the university campus proved to be harder than he had thought. Only now, he realized Minhyun had always been the one seeking for him, and he had taken that affection and attention for granted. Finally, though, on his second day of research, he found Minhyun sitting on a bench outside. He almost ran to him, and came near him panting. Minhyun closed his book to look up at whoever had approached him, but his gaze turned cold when he noticed who it was.

“Minhyun I’m so sorry-”

“Don’t talk to me.”

Jisung almost shut up at the sudden words, but he tried to take Minhyun’s hand in his.

“No, please listen, I made a mistake and I really want to apologize-”

“You’ve done it just now. Let me go.”

Jisung felt tears prickle at his eyes at the way Minhyun shook his hand free and didn’t look at him as he started walking away. 

“Minhyun, I love you too.”

 

That was his last chance. If Minhyun really didn’t turn back to him…

 

Minhyun stopped in his tracks. He turned on his heels, but stayed still. Jisung took a first step towards him, but Minhyun raised a hand, as if to tell him to stop. He did. Then Minhyun looked up, and the saddest, most heart-wrenching smile appeared on his face.

“See how that hurts when you bare your heart and you get ignored? I can’t accept your feelings when all you’ve done is play with mine since the beginning. Goodbye.”

That said, Minhyun left, and Jisung released a breath he hadn’t noticed holding. So, that was it. They had been building something, albeit a bit clumsily, and because of a tiny mistake, a loose screw in the structure, it had all come crashing down. Jisung broke down into tears.

  
The tears wouldn’t stop even in class, so he headed to his apartment, nose running and massive headache incoming. He crashed on his couch and cried until he was too tired. Hours went by until he was able to get up and shower, and he somehow managed to feed himself. He also texted Daniel to let him know what had happened, and how he’d stay on his own for a while. 

But then he remembered Minhyun and he went back on his couch, this time with a huge, fluffy blanket with cute penguins decorations on it, snacks and some soda, before turning on the TV and looking for anything fun that would keep his mind busy. 

There was a rerun of Titanic and he immediately switched channels, not needing any more sadness in his life. He ended up on a kids channel which only showed cartoons, and decided that he was feeling miserable enough to go through Pororo episodes at eleven at night. 

Around two, he finally turned off the TV, brushed his teeth and headed straight for his bed. Soon, tears wetted his pillow, and he hugged the closest plushie. When he noticed that he was hugging Jihyun, that is to say, the raccoon Minhyun had gifted him on his birthday, he started sobbing harder on the stuffed toy, miserably. 

 

Good thing the following day was a Friday, meaning he had no class and could stay in his bed – and apartment – and cry. He was acing the entire process when someone knocked on his door. Not caring that his eyes were still red and puffy and his hair wild, he opened the door, Minhyun’s raccoon plushie still in his arms. His eyes widened when Minhyun of all people appeared, and he would’ve laughed at how wide Minhyun’s own eyes were too if he wasn’t busy gaping like an idiot. The younger male opened his mouth, only to close it when he caught sight of the stuffed toy, recognizing as his gift.

Everything happened very quickly, but Jisung felt himself getting tackled into a sudden hug that had him drop the stuffed toy. Minhyun circled his waist and shoulders tightly, burying his face into his neck. Jisung found himself completely trapped in the taller’s embrace, and shivered. He was about to ask something when Minhyun suddenly pushed him against the door, closing it as he did, and crashed his mouth on his in the most passionate kiss he had ever had. Their mouths met messily, tongues searching for each other and too much saliva dropping on both of their chins. On top of that, Minhyun had his hands grounding Jisung’s waist as Jisung gripped his hair, bringing their bodies much closer. Their kisses went on and on, and they only stopped when they were somewhat satisfied and completely breathless. 

“Fuck, I love you so much,” Minhyun said, half-moaning. 

He disantangled himself from Jisung, hands still on his waist. Jisung buried his face into Minhyun’s chest, smiling when he heard his erratic heartbeats. He hugged him, tightly.

“I love you too.”

“No, Jisung, you don’t get it,” Minhyun said, kissing him on the lips once again. “You make me crazy,” he added, pushing him into the door some more before initiating another burning kiss. His lips eventually left Jisung’s to trail in his neck, as one of his hands also infiltrated Jisung’s tee shirt. Jisung let out a high-pitched moan as Minhyun made sure to suck the skin under his right ear, and he also let him nudge a knee between his legs, pressing into him. Throwing his head against the door so Minhyun could have access to his neck more easily, Jisung started panting, saliva dripping from his half-opened mouth. However, seeing as his body was starting to feel a little too hot from Minhyun’s ministrations, he moaned his name and a feeble “wait, stop.”

Minhyun did, and they took a look at each other’s wrecked appearance. Jisung threw his hands around Minhyun’s neck to kiss him on the lips, then broke away. 

“I want you too, but let’s take this slowly, okay?” he said before pecking him. Minhyun gave him a kicked puppy look, but nodded. 

  
Jisung guessed that in the end, he could deal with a kdrama boyfriend. 

The day they finally got together, Minhyun confessed that it was, unexpectedly, all thanks to Daniel that he had come back. Daniel had looked for him as soon as Jisung had texted him he was going home, in the midst of the afternoon, and they had run into each other by chance as Minhyun was leaving the university. At first, he had not wanted to listen to Daniel, but seeing as he insisted, he had given in. Daniel had proceeded to explain how they had simply wanted to test him by acting close, but how it had escalated as being touchy with each other came naturally by now. He had also told Minhyun how Jisung’s feelings towards him were sincere, adding that Jisung was now crying his heart out and probably wouldn’t stop for a few days. He had begged Minhyun to at least go check on him.

Jisung made sure to thank his best friend a thousand times, and the latter replied that he was happy his efforts had paid off.

When flirting, Minhyun had always acted like a perfect boyfriend - probably more on the knight in shining armor side. Now that they were finally dating, the only thing that truly changed was the physical contacts between each other. That, and Minhyun inviting himself at Jisung’s place for diverse reasons, whether cleaning, cooking, ironing his clothes… Jisung had argued, laughing, that he could take care of that by himself, but Minhyun had swatted his hands away from the vacuum cleaner before assessing his position as the Master in cleaning. The first time, Jisung had sat on the couch while Minhyun was vacuuming his apartment, laughing at how much of a cleaning maniac his boyfriend looked. 

 

Minhyun already brought him coffee or hot chocolate during class breaks, but now that a French bakery had opened close to the campus, he also brought pastries alongside Jisung’s coffee. While Jisung absolutely loved the attention (and the intention) and cooed over how cute Minhyun looked devoring cream puffs, he was also worried about putting on weight. He made that remark one day as they were walking up the stairs of the lecture hall, pouting as he was eyeing the freshly baked goods his boyfriend had brought to their philosophy class. Said boyfriend put down the pastries on the table, before pulling him into a hug, arms strongly circling his waist. 

“You’d look so adorable if you were a little chubbier,” Minhyun said before patting his ass, “there’d be more of you to love!”

That caused Jisung to pout harder. Minhyun laughed, and leaned it, nuzzling their noses. Jisung’s pout was soon gone, and he tip toed while throwing his arms around Minhyun’s neck to kiss him fully on the mouth, humming into their kiss. 

* * *

As for Woojin, he was not necessarily happy to see Minhyun even more lovestruck than before. 

At the very first lesson, he had noticed how Minhyun seemed to have a very fat crush akin to love at first sight when he had met his brother. Woojin’s first thoughts had been “oh, no” because his life was not a kdrama in which his tutor would fall in love with his big brother. As it turned out, though, his life had become a gigantic kdrama and he had witnessed the disastrous consequences of it during his second lesson. Because Minhyun was taking so much time with his brother, he had left his tutor’s room and frowned visibly when he had seen said tutor kiss his brother. He had immediately retreated in Minhyun’s room, feeling a headache incoming, and Minhyun had come in, all pink in the face. They had sat, and Woojin had raised a brow when Minhyun hadn’t said anything about math. Instead, with dreamy eyes, he had sighed “Woojin, what do you think are the chances of your brother and I getting together?”. Woojin had scorned, and answered bluntly “At the rate you’re going, as slim as my chances of passing this god forsaken class.”

The next lessons had consisted of Minhyun constantly sighing whenever Jisung couldn’t stay, or being even more distracted when he would. Woojin was patient, but Minhyun whispering to himself “how to be that cat” because Jisung was petting his cat got on his nerves, and he was stealing countless glances towards Jisung just because he was here was infuriating. “I’ll fucking tutor myself,” Woojin swore under his breath when Minhyun went “We’re taking a break” and almost ran to sit next to Jisung. 

  
Once his brother and his tutor were officially dating, Woojin was the one who forbade Jisung to stay at the tutoring sessions. That led to Minhyun and Jisung chatting in the hall while Woojin would set up his stuff in Minhyun’s room, and eventually he’d have to call them out on their unprofessional behavior when Minhyun just wouldn’t let Jisung go. Not that Jisung was protesting, Woojin could tell from the way he spent extra time kissing Minhyun to delay the time they’d have to say goodbye for real. 

“And don’t go see other men, I’ll get jealous,” Minhyun would say, pouting.

“Stop saying this all the time!! Do I need to record him saying your name in his sleep to convince you he’s so stupidly in love with you?” Woojin once exploded. Minhyun turned to him, repeating “Jisung says my name in his sleep?” while Jisung turned bright red and shouted “THAT WAS ONLY ONE TIME.”

Only positive point was, he had aced a mock exam in maths, and when showing his paper to Jihoon, the latter had winked and whispered “That’ll get you a reward as well.” Woojin couldn’t wait. 

* * *

**Bonus:**

It was August 9th, or Minhyun’s birthday, and right now Jisung was currently trying to escape the birthday’s boy arms around him. Minhyun had insisted on sleeping over the night before so that he could start his birthday with his boyfriend next to him, and who was Jisung to refuse? On top of that, he had made the mistake of telling Minhyun he could ask for everything he wanted on this special day, resulting in them spending a very agitated night and only falling asleep early in the morning. It was 11am, and Jisung wanted to go to the bathroom and to have some food, his stomach loudly protesting in hunger once again as Minhyun whined “5 more minutes” for the 6th time. 

“It’s my birthday, you can’t leave me,” he argued, pouting. 

“I promise I’ll be back, Minhyunnie, stop being so stubborn!” Jisung argued back as his boyfriend pressed his naked form against him into the tightest backhug. 

“But I love you,” Minhyun said in a childish voice.

Jisung turned so he could face him, and sighed before hugging him. 

“I know, I love you too,” Jisung whispered in his ear, making his boyfriend giggle.

“Love you more!!” Minhyun exclaimed happily, and if Jisung wasn’t already used to him he’d think he was high (on love). 

“C’mon babe, let’s get up and make your day awesome,” Jisung said, gently combing Minhyun’s hair while smiling. 

Minhyun pressed him into the mattress for a breathless kiss, and as he let his nails drag slowly on his boyfriend’s bare and broad shoulders, Jisung smiled inwardly at how much he truly did love Minhyun and wouldn’t exchange him for anyone else in the world. They pulled away, and Jisung kissed him again, whispering words of love as Minhyun giggled happily. Today would be the best day.


End file.
